With the onslaught of computer hackers, scammers, and computer viruses that are prevalent around the Internet, it is important to know how and why you should install a firewall.

Though adequately addressing computer security can be a frustrating experience for those who are relatively new to the Internet experience, there is actually more involved in protecting your PC than running virus scans, anti-spyware programs, and warding off email spam.

A firewall is your first line of defense between your computer and data that is entering it. Without it, your computer is prone to a dangerous attacks that can wipe out your data or steal personal information that can negatively impact you.

You first need to determine what kind of firewall you need for your computer. There are many available, some from major corporations such as Microsoft.

If you already have a computer that came installed with the Microsoft XP or Vista operating system, then chances are that your firewall is already set up and ready to be used.

However, you do need to make sure that it is turned on and working properly. If you do not have one of these later operating systems, then you need to purchase your own firewall software. (Even with Microsoft XP, you may still want to purchase separate firewall software since the XP version doesn’t get great reviews.)

There are many firewalls products available, including as the most popular - Norton, AVG, and McAfee. You can either visit a store that sells computer software or download a firewall product through the Internet.

Prices vary depending on sophistication of the software, but there are also plenty of low cost firewalls available, even from the big name companies. Once in hand and prior to installing your firewall, you need to take a few things into consideration.

Firewalls can block certain functions that you need, so you must configure it to allow those, such as file and printing sharing. You will normally learn how to do this during the installation or by using its documentation to change the settings once the firewall is installed.

Firewalls tend to stop you from going to certain parts of the Internet as well. This can happen if you use a local area network or a router, so it is important that you are familiar with how you connect.

Secured networks in particular are difficult to access with a firewall in place. If you work from home or connect to a company computer, you need to coordinate with the IT department in your company before installing a firewall since they may have specific instructions concerning how to configure its settings so you are still able to connect to them.

For most companies, the amount of valuable data that needs to be protected is increasing on laptops and desktops. With the increasing security concerns and the mobility of the workforce together with office expansions in multiple locations, the need to utilize an efficient laptop backup solution is imperative.The anticipation is that existing laptop backup solutions should be able to handle these new conditions but in truth they have not evolved to meet these new problems

Conventional laptop backup software programs continue to need large resources and dedicated and trusted networks for backups.The reason many of the current PC backup solutions are so clumsy is because they have evolved out of older server archival backup products.The features you need to look for in an enterprise PC backup solution are crucial since they make the difference between being used and your companies data safe or not used because they are system hogs system resources or the set up is too complicated.

There are six important features to look for when searching for a backup software. Backing up your computer is one of those things that your employees know they should do but if the software is not automated and simple to use they will avoid this task. So the backup software you choose must be simple to use and automated. The directions need to be clear and should not exceed 5 or 6 steps. Instead of using a calendar system it should have simple directions which will help the employee become compliant with backup policies.

The software must also be non-intrusive and resource friendly. One of the main reasons employees hate to backup their computers is because their computer slows down when the backup starts which happens as soon as the user logs into the network.

Even though laptops are fast replacing desktops in many companies, most backup software still hasn’t developed. It is crucial that backups are resource friendly and that it utilizes very little power from the computer. Being able to set simple options like not allowing the backup to function when the laptop is on battery power. Together with the increase of mobile workers, laptop thefts, and data risks, backups should be ready. The user should be able to choose a bandwidth like 10% of the available bandwidth and the backup software should work, even over the weakest Internet connections. Being able to limit the bandwidth allows the user to continue working while the backup is working. Security is very important to companies especially when you are using WAN/VPN. Although most backup solutions are server implemented, the backups were client triggered the server firewalls would just allow and monitor the inbound traffic. The backup software should be able to set up encrypted or authenticated sessions to allow secure backups.

Data is increasing with some enormous file sizes that need to be taken into account therefore support for incremental sync for large files like Outlook PST is an important consideration. With the backup software capable of incremental backups only the changed bits are copied to the server.

It is crucial to make the backup solution work for your employees. Requiring an email to be sent to admin to get your data back is a real pain for users especially if the user is off-site or out somewhere. Whatever your backup solution it should be capable of facilitating an intelligently based remote secure data restoration.

When you choose a backup solution, keep in mind the above mentioned features so that your users will backup often and backup well.

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When it comes to transferring over files from your old computer to the new one you have many options out there. Not all of them are easy but this quick guide should give you some pointers.

One great source is this how how to transfer files between computers site. They cover many of the basics on doing a data transfer and let you know a little more in-depth the actual methods you can use.

For those that just have a few hundred pictures or documents you may find your best option is to just copy them over via a USB thumb drive or burning the data to a CD.

For those that want to transfer over a use profile then you can use the built in Microsoft Easy Transfer software. Don’t let the name fool you. It often times can be a headache. That is why for people who need to transfer over user profiles and a ton of other settings your best option is to purchase software to do so. Check out this XP to XP data transfer site for some good pointers and reviews on software.

One option many people who are computer savvy can do is just export all their data and then re-install the software on the new machine and import the data back in. This works with IE favorites and other items like Quick Books and Outlook. Refer to the manufactures guide on how to do this or check out how to transfer files between computers some great pointers.

One item we should point out is that not all XP software is compatible with Vista. You should always do a fresh install of the software on Vista and check for any needed updates. Most programs do work well on Vista but you may need an upgrade.

As far as external devices like printers and the like you also may need to go to the manufactures website to get the latest drivers and software updates before you can install the printer. If you have Vista you need to make sure you get the correct driver for the version you have. 32 bit or 64bit. You can tell this by right clicking on the “Computer” icon under the Windows Start Menu and then select “properties”. From there you can see what version you have.

Another item you should be made aware of is how to dispose of your old computer. You should consider donating it to a charity. If you go this route be sure to delete or pull your hard drive.

Having problems with a slow pc? We all go through that especially when your computer has been with you for over a year without any maintenance work or updates.

Ordinarily, many assume that the problems is in lack of memory and space, that your hard disk is full and you should just delete files to free up some space. Unfortunately while that may be one reason (if your hard disk is really full with less 5% space left), often times the problem lies in your registry files.

A registry is part of your operating system in Windows. It is a key tool to making your programs run. It starts to fail when you start changing your setting or from daily prolonged surfing online. It tends to get bloated with missing or invalid and obsolete entries.

Thus, the more you tinker with your system and download files to your computer, then delete them, the faster your registry will get fragmented, and the performance of your computer will be greatly affected.

Listed below are some of the common problems of a faulty registry:

• Your computer hangs. This is when the mouse cursor or keyboard stops responding. The cursor will not move at all. With this situation, you will lose your work (if not saved) because you will have to either manually restart your computer, or press on Control-Alt-Del.

• Surfing on the internet takes too long. The waiting time between opening and closing websites start taking too long. Plus, you cannot open video or music files without it stalling.

• Boot up takes forever. When you turn on your computer, and it takes forever to open, then you have a system problem. Many times, the cause of slow boot ups is caused by a bloated registry. You may also start seeing error messages about corrupt files.

• You see the blue screen. The kiss of death is when your monitor turns blue and you get a message about your system not functioning.

All these can happen suddenly and without warning, so your best option would be to find a registry cleaner that will prepare you for such eventuality or, better yet, prevent it from happening at all.

If you have any experience with how an operating system works, you can clean out your registry manually, although this could take a lot of your time, and you might delete an important operating system file in the process.

If you have no experience, there are several reputable registry cleaners products that will do the job for you. Look for one that can scan and automatically fix the problem by cleaning out obsolete files, then compressing your registry so that it will function like new. It would also be a good idea to find a registry repair program program that you can keep updated, thereby your computer is always updated as well.

There is something about your computer not functioning that gives you a sinking lost feeling, like someone died. Performing a system registry check will really make this scenario just about impossible.

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As you are no doubt aware, there is a persistent threat of harmful emails sent from people who take pride in causing harm to your computer or attempting to separate you from your finances. So PC security should be paramount on your mind as you connect to the Internet.

The damaging emails, typically known as spam, are usually sent with attachments that cause destruction to your computer and key - if not all - data residing on it.

More than Bothersome

The emails themselves are harmless, but opening the attachment launches a virus or “worm” that make its way onto your PC and possibly also the computers of anyone you have listed as a contact in your email address book.

These aren’t simply annoying or irritating; they can totally wipe out your ability to use your computer in a matter of seconds.

Frequently, the emails come disguised as from either a familiar address or a seemingly innocuous email name carrying a real attention grabber as a subject line. The content of the message entices you to open the attachment without providing much explanatory information.

Time for Caution

There are many means of avoiding the receipt of these worms and viruses, and you need to be aware to adequately protect yourself and your computer.

First, you should never open an email from someone you do not know, especially if it has an attachment. Although some of these emails will automatically go to your junk mail folder, some will make their way through to your email inbox.

If you don’t personally recognize the name or company, then do not open it, but rather immediately discard it into your junk email file to alert the email server you use that you will not accept emails from this person again.

If you do receive an email from an unknown source and open it, make sure to never open the attachment itself. Some attachments are automatically scanned for viruses by the email server prior to delivery. However, to be on the safe side, simply delete it.

Thinking Defensively on the Internet

Additionally, if the subject matter is not one with which you are familiar, delete the message and don’t even respond - as that simply confirms the validity of you email address to the sender, and they’ll continue to send more in the future.

Your best bet for avoiding all of this is to use an anti-virus program that safeguards your computer from PC viruses, even when you do open a destructive attachment accidentally. These threats are real, but very preventable if you follow email attachment safety.

Finally, when you send an email yourself, you should follow the same guidelines and never send an attachment to someone who is not expecting it. Otherwise your email may simply be discarded on the receiving end.

Optimize the speed of your computer and repair all errors instantly!

The moment you switch your pc on you are stuck to the seat with your eyes glued to the screen waiting for your computer to load, eventually your computer does, you think yes now I can check the mail WRONG, just as you click the icon your computer spits out an error message and freezes. You don’t know much about computers so what do you do.

Here are a couple of scenarios:

You phone your local computer engineer specialist, he can’t fix it because he does not know anything about the registry but he still wants paid $80 for his two hours messing with stuff in your computer.

You phone your friend because he says he knows a lot about computers and always brags about how he knows more than what any computer person does. He says he is too busy and will fix it another day because he is fixing another computer, yeah right.

At this point you are desperate for a solution, you go to your local library and use a computer there, you go onto Google and half an hour later you read the reviews, you read the comment, you read the features and finally you read the price. You decide to buy the software and 5 minutes after your computer is up and running again flawlessly and the next time you start your computer it loads faster than what it did than when you first bought it.

What Is RegCure?
RegCure scan your computers registry for everything and anything really and once it is finished scanning it cleans the registry which in turn optimizes the speed and performance of your computer.

How do I Know If My Computer Needs RegCure?
If your computer is new chances are you won’t need to use RegCure just yet but as a computer gets older the registry gets more and more mixed up and that’s where errors start appearing which start off small but could lead to fatal system crashes and a loss of data.

Here are a few features of RegCure:

Automatic Repair
RegCure offers you the ability to perform an automatic repair of detected items after a scan. You can configure the settings so that a repair of detected items occurs after each scan.

Backup and Restore
An automatic backup is created every time you use RegCure. You can restore any items any time for peace of mind.

Startup Management
RegCure offers quick and easy access to all the programs that are launched when you start your computer. You can enable and disable applications in the Manage Startup list with a few simple clicks.

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